Photo taken from the series 'With the Name of a Flower' (2017 -2019). The project investigates the forced name changes of the Muslim population in Bulgaria (1912 – 1989), and their impact on people’s lives and identity.

The yellow dress belonged to my grandmother Vera, called Ferde before I was born. This self-portrait is an attempt to commemorate the lives of countless Muslim people who were forced to change their names and give up part of their identity in the process.

Vera Hadzhiyska is a Bulgarian artist and curator based in England. Her work begins autobiographically by tracing family narratives and shared traumas. Her art practice is informed by the study of migration, cultural and national identity, history and collective memory.